The Aunt
by Ferretsoup
Summary: Everyone is wrong, thought Lian. Everyone says Tig'ess is ebil but she's Auntie Art'mis and she's my aunt and she loves me and Unca Wally so she's OBVIOUSLY not ebil. Duh.


Title: The Aunt

Characters/Pairings: Waltemis, with little Lian Harper involved!

Notes: Another victim of my iTouch's butchered auto-correct. I don't know what to think of this fic it started out so well, then died... Eh. Tell me what you think of it.

When she found him lying half-buried under the rubble, her heart did a double-take.

The sky was dark with thunderclouds, threatening to split open and pour their contents onto the streets of Central City. The remains of the town hall was strewn across the square, and the boom of fighting echoed from other areas.

A masked villain was slumped on what was left of the steps, blood seeping put of the corner of his mouth. The bodies of henchmen were lying in piles within the mess, unconcious. Artemis picked her way through the bodies, making her way to the blaze of red that gleamed under a piece of column. As she reached it, she gripped the bottom of it, and with a heave that left her muscles loose and sore, pushed it over and off the body belonging to the Flash - also known as Wally West.

Artemis assessed the damage, dragging her fingers gently down his body. He was out cold, with a sizable lump on the back of his head where the column must have hit. His right arm looked broken - she had to surpress a grin at the memory of his last broken arm - as well as his right leg. It looked like he'd broken a few ribs, too. Artemis herself was just beginning to wonder why he hadn't bloody run out of the way, when a tiny whimper came from beneath Wally.

Artemis froze, before she lifted up Wally's uninjured arm to stare beneath it, eyes meeting a pair of terrified brown ones. "Of course," she muttered, filled with a mixture of affection, admiration and exasperation with Wally. "He'd never let a kid get hurt if he could help it."

Artemis watched the scared pair of eyes for a second, before she crept closer. "Hey, kid," she murmered, eyes never leaving the kid's. "What's your name?"

The closed for a moment, and in the faint light it looked as though it was shaking it's head. "Can't tell." The voice was very young, and sounded female, although it was hard to tell.

"Why not?" asked Artemis, eyebrow quirked.

The kid hesitated for a moment before replying, "Daddy says not to talk to baddies and Unca Wally says you're a baddie."

THAT made Artemis freeze. Uncle Wally? That meant either this was a terrible joke, or this kid knew the man thrown over her. Which meant that someone Wally knew well was he father, which meant-

"You're Tigess," the kid added unhelpfully, although her mispronouciation of Artemis's new title was kind of cute.

Artemis sighed. This kid wouldn't budge unless she had to, such as when her hiding place was removed. So now Artemis had to deal with Wally's little niece/nephew, as well as getting him to safety.

She leaned in closer. "Kid, my name is Artemis. I'm just dressed like Tigress. Did your uncle Wally tell you about me?"

The head nodded vigorously. "Yeah! You was on the team with Unca Kalda and Unca Conna and Unca Dick and Auntie M'gann and Unca Wally!" the kid crawled out a bit, just enough for Artemis to make out a soft golden-skinned face, and almond shaped eyes. The kid, seeming to be a girl by her long black hair, was of Asian descent.

"Who's your mummy and daddy?" Artemis asked, keeping an eye out for anyone coming by. The kid hesitated, before looking up into Artemis's eyes with tiny soulful ones. "You can't tell anyone, okay?" she said, voice scared.

Artemis nodded sagely, and watched as the kid finally shrugged and smiled up at her. "Unca Wally calls my daddy Speedy but his real name's Woy," she said easily, smiling. "I don't know my mummy but when daddy's angry he shouts and calls her Jade."

Artemis froze. Roy... and Jade? It would explain the Asian descent, and she did look like her... "What's your name then, darling?" If that was her name, there was no doubt. Jade had always wanted to name her daughter-

"Lian Harper, Artmis," the girl said, crawling nearly fully out from under Wally's body. Artemis could have died right there. Jade was a mother. To Roy. And she was an aunt! And no one had told her! She looked down at Lian, and smiled shakily.

"Well, Lian, did you know your mummy is my sister?" Artemis's voice wavered slightly. "So that makes me your Auntie?"

Lian's eyes were wide, and a delighted smile spread across her face. "Really? That's so cool! Auntie Artmis!" Lian attempted to launch herself at Artemis, but Wally's bulk stopped her. "Urgh! Unca Wally's heavy!"

Artemis smiled at her niece, a plan in her head. "Well Lian, how about we move him?" She pushed his shoulder up, allowing Lian to escape her warm prison. "Because I think Uncle Wally needs to see the doctor."

Lian nodded importantly, and attempted to haul on her uncle's arm. Artemis covered her giggles with a cough, and froze as he unconcious Wally groaned in his sleep. Lian just giggled.

"Let me take him, and you take this." Artemis handed over her quiver and bow to the little girl, whose eyes had grown wide. "And be careful with them."

"Daddy never let's me touch his awwows," Lian confided in her as Artemis hoisted Wally into her arms. "He says I'll break dem."

"Well he's silly," she told her in a strained voice. Damn, Wally had grown heavy!

Lian nodded, and slung the quiver onto her back, as she held the minimized bow in her hands carefully. "I tink so too."

Together, with Artemis carrying Wally and Lian carrying the Tigress's famed bow and arrows, they made their way throuh the city to the closest ambulance. If Lian thought anything of the way people screamed and ran when they saw her new auntie, she said nothing.

Finally they came across an ambulance with two free medics who were searching the rubble for bodies. The next time they turned around, the Flash was sitting on a stretcher with a tiny girl holding a black and orange striped arrow in her hand waving at them. Soon the Flash would be rushed off to the hospital, where he would be visited by his long-time girlfriend Linda, who would think nothing of a kiss on his cheek from a pair of orange and black painted lips.

When Red Arrow came to collect his daughter from the medics who were entertaining her, she tugged on his arm and looked up at him with excited eyes. "I have a secret that I can't tell you!" she cried.

He smiled, simply happy she was safe. Then he frowned. "Why are you over West Side? I thought Wally was looking after you in North Side?"

"Secret!" she cried happily, spinning around, arrow clenched in her hand. Roy frowned at her until she stopped spinning suddenly, eyes excited. "I met my other auntie today, Daddy!"

Roy narrowed his eyes, not liking where this was going. "Really, sweetie? Did you just?"

Lian nodded. "She was dressed like Tigess and you said Tigess was bad but Auntie Artmis isn't bad because she's my mummy's sister and so she's my auntie and auntie's aren't bad they're good." Lian took a deep breath in, and continued. "And I know she's good because she gave me her arrow and said if I was in trouble to tell her because I'm her niece and she carried Unca Wally to the doctors because he was hurt and kissed me and kissed Unca Wally and told me she loved us both and then she told me-" Lian broke off suddenly, out of breath and shocked.

"What? She told you what?" Roy asked, kneeling to his daughter's level.

Lian blushed and turned away, before muttering the answer quietly. "She told me not to tell because you all thought she was bad and it was better that way."

Roy stared at his daughter, and hugged her. "Well, she's not bad, I guess," he said after some time had passed.

Lian nodded against his shoulder, before she looked up at her dad. "Daddy, Auntie Artmis looked so... Sad, when I told her about you all. I think she's sad, and she misses you all. She's not a baddie, Daddy. She's a hero. And she loves me, and Unca Wally."

Roy nodded, heart filled with sadness. "I know, Lian. But sometimes life is hard."

Lian pushed herself away from her dad, face set. "Promise to help her, Daddy! Promise!" When he turned his eyes away, she hissed out, "Pinky promise, Daddy. And you can break one of those or you DIE."

Roy looked at his daughter, and noticed the tears welling in her eyes. He sighed, and put his hand out, pinky extended. "I promise I'll help Artemis," he muttered, watching as a happy smile broke out across his daughter's face. "I promise I'll make her good again."


End file.
